A Bird in Bishopswood

In a sesone of somere þat souerayne ys of alle,

Þat was þe myry monþ of May May May is a “somere” month of celebration for the poet's contemporaries, who usually conceived of two seasons, summer and winter, with our spring folded into summer and our autumn straddling late summer and early winter. when many myrthys spryng,

Þe sonne ys somnoresomnore A low-ranking official tasked by a court of law with serving writs and bringing persons of interest to court. In the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer has a summoner join the Canterbury pilgrimage. and syre and sendyth tyl vs doun,

And byddyth vs bisy for to be oure bodys for to glade;

Man for to myrth hym in al maner wys,

Bestys for to buske ham on bentys tyl abyde,

Bryddys in buschys bysy ham with songys,

Flourys for to florych and flauour ȝyf about,

Grys for to grow grene and glade mennys hartys;

Þus ech creaturecreature The word is well chosen, for it can refer to humans or animals equally. In both cases, it evokes biblical Creation. comfort hym caght,

And laxtlaxt “Laxt” means “received”: the verb suggests that energy to sustain life enters the hearts of humans and animals from the natural world. Premodern Europeans entertained an “outside-in” theory of emotions and the constitution of the body. lust for to lyf in likyng of somer.

And I had lenyd me long al a LentynLentyn In Catholic traditions, Lent is a time of fasting, prayer, and reflection. tyme

In vnlust of my lyf and lost al my joye;

And þen I heuyd vp myn hert and myn hede aftyr

And welk forth to þe wodys as oþer wyes dydeneas oþer wyes dydene The narrator follows a trend: a stroll out of the big city into nature to dispel “Lentyn” thoughts.,

Al vnpouruayd of play þat pryuete askythAl vnpouruayd of play þat pryuete askyth The line is vague. Literally it means, “Completely unprovided with diversions that private time requires.” The sense is that the wanderer has not brought anything with him to occupy his solitary hours. This foreshadows his lack of birdlime below..

And as I welk þus and wandryd, wery of myself,

I abode vndyr a busch at Byschopys Woode

For to se þe fayr fo[wly]s ech with his felawfelaw Meaning “playmate,” “friend,” or “partner,” the word "felaw" humanizes avian sociality. play.

And as I sat in my solas and alle þes syghtys sawe,

A bryd bode on a bough, fast me besyde,

Þe fayrest fowyl of fethyrs þat I had say beforne;

Fyguryd in feturys fourmyd so clene

Þat sche nad lyme ne lyth þat lakke myȝt hafe;

Sade in al semblant, sayd bot a lytyl,Sade in al semblant, sayd bot a lytyl Reticence, a prudent sense of when to keep silent, was a prized character trait in medieval England for both men and women.

Naythyr chauntyd ne chatryd bot cheryd herself,

And naythyr fluschyd ne frayd as oþer fowlys dydyne,

Bot euer stode in a stody as sche astonyd were.

And as hyt semyd to my syght by semblant sche made

Þat sche myssyd a make myrth for to mak here.

Þen was I ferd of þis fowleferd of þis fowle Not “afraid of this bird” but “afraid on her behalf, lest (I should startle her).” The I of the poem worries he will ruin the moment. þat I affray her schuld

Ȝyf I bowyd to þe bowgh þe bryd sat vpon,

And I was wo and euer waytyd when sche away wold flye,

For sche had wengys at her wylle and wantyd neuer a fethyr

And I vnlyght of my lymys and lyme had I none

Ne couth noght cheuysch me with charmys ne chauntyng of bryddys.Ne couth noght cheuysch me with charmys ne chauntyng of bryddys. The words "charmys" and "chauntyng" simultaneously indicate the proximity of magic in the social world that the poem conjures and foreclose the possibility. Magical subplots may be rife in medieval romance, but our narrator is no magician, and this is no romance.

And thus I buskyd fro þis bryd and hyt abode stylle,

And þorg no spech þat I spak aspyed sche me noght;

And euer I wischyd in my wylAnd euer I wischyd in my wyl The rueful note on which the poem ends is very much in keeping with courty love conventions, in which the only feeling more exquisitely powerful than passionate unrequited love is regret for irrevocable loss of the beloved. þat I her weld myȝt,

For to kepyn in my cage tyl wynter comyn were,

Þat sche were wery of þat wedyr and wold abyd somer.